Thanks to the major strides in the medical field, giving birth to a child has become much safer now. But still, complications can arise and may cause severe birth injuries to the infant. Some of these birth injuries can be avoided when the care of highest level is given. All these injuries may not be due to the negligence of the treating doctor or the staff of the hospital. But if you feel that the injuries could be avoided and that there was negligence, you can always consult a Personal Injury Lawyer in Ottawa who has the experience in dealing with the birth injury cases.
If your attorney agrees that the birth injuries were due to medical negligence, then the next step is to fix the liability. The liability is fixed on the party who is considered to be the one responsible for the birth injuries. The party can be the obstetrician, medical staff, the hospital or the birth center or the pharmaceutical companies. If there is clear-cut negligence, then it is easy to fix the liability on the responsible party. But if there is a scope for ambiguity, then your Personal Injury Lawyer in Ottawa will have to go through the whole chain of events to identify the party responsible. Before filing the medical negligence case, you must have a good knowledge about the difference in the terms of ‘birth injuries’ and ‘birth defects’. These are two completely different entities and have completely different causes. In order to prove your claim, you need to prove beyond doubt that the said defendant had
· The legal duty of care towards you (and)
· Breached in his/her duty towards you and did not provide the standard care that any other person would have done in the similar situation
Your Personal Injury Lawyer in Ottawa will then have to prove that the above breach in care resulted in the birth injuries. Though the hospital or the birth center is usually the primary defendant in such cases, depending on the circumstances, other individuals can also be made the defendants.
Once you have fixed the responsibility, you will also have to compute the damages you have suffered and the financial strain on you in future. It is very important that you understand the scope and extent of the birth injuries in terms of their effects on you, your family and the child. The financial cost of taking care of the child with grievous birth injuries is quite high and your Personal Injury Lawyer in Ottawa will take into consideration the cost of the physical therapy, the specialized equipment, rehabilitation therapy, in-home care, your lost wages and other hardships. He/she will then craft a ‘life care plan’ taking into account all the above financial costs and monetary loses that you will suffer. While computing the overall compensation amount, your attorney will take into account your pains and sufferings as well as your loss of enjoyment. Once your Personal Injury Lawyer in Ottawa will file a lawsuit, the defendants will offer settlement as it will not only minimize the negative publicity but will also save on time-consuming and costly trial. To read more Click Here